


More Than Words can Say

by mypoorfaves



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Cold, Cute, Domestic, Fluff, Lost Voice, M/M, Sick Yuuri, Sickfic, teaching languages
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-29
Updated: 2017-06-29
Packaged: 2018-11-20 10:16:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11333739
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mypoorfaves/pseuds/mypoorfaves
Summary: Yuuri gets sick with a cold in Hasetsu and loses his voice! How will he and Victor be able to communicate? How will Victor care for Yuuri? Takes place somewhere between episodes 5 and 6.





	More Than Words can Say

**Author's Note:**

> I’ve been harboring this idea of a sickie who entirely loses their voice for a long time (which I guess is why it ended up being so damn long. I tried to shorten it, I really did try!). This was originally intended to be a bit crack-like with miscommunication shenanigans, but surprisingly ended up containing a lot more fluff. I hope you enjoy!
> 
> Real quick in case you don’t already know because the story will make more sense if you do:
> 
> Kanji: Japanese picture-word(s), essentially
> 
> Hiragana: symbol(s) used to represent a single phonetic
> 
> Katakana: like hiragana, but used for foreign words and names
> 
> Cyrillic: Russian writing system
> 
> Romaji: Japanese written using the English alphabet. (Will be italicized)

Victor wears a concerned frown while he rubs Yuuri’s back as the latest coughing fit forces its way out of Yuuri’s throat. They sound dry and unproductive, not to mention painful. He’s been dealing with them the whole day ever since he woke up; it came with the cold that hit him like a ton of bricks, no warning whatsoever.

  
When Yuuri at last catches his breath, his inhales have become shallow so as not to start another fit and he has tears forming at the edges of his eyes. His hand which had been balled into a fist over his chest is now rubbing at his sore throat. “Hurts,” Yuuri rasps, then winces at the pain that the talking caused him.

  
“Try not to talk. You’ll only make it worse,” Victor advises. He rubs Yuuri’s back again, noting the heat his body is giving off even though the shirt. For such a sudden cold, it’s not too bad; his fever is low, but the coughs are worrisome.

  
“I’m going to get you sick if you’re not careful,” Yuuri warns. His voice is cracking and broken and he coughs again, but thankfully it doesn’t turn into another fit.

  
“Nonsense! I have a good immune system! Plus I want to look after my sweet Yuuri!” Victor gushes. “I’m going to pamper you and provide the utmost level of TLC until you get better!”

  
Yuuri just gives a moan and dramatically flops onto his back and closes his eyes. “Tired,” he mumbles.

  
“It’s getting late. You should get some more sleep. Although you shouldn’t be laying flat with how much you’re coughing.”

  
With much reluctance, Yuuri hauls himself up to a seated position. Victor takes the time to fluff the numerous pillows and place them between Yuuri and the headboard, then he tucks the blanket around Yuuri as he leans back. “Hopefully you’ll feel better by tomorrow morning,” Victor says and places a gentle kiss on Yuuri’s warm forehead.

  
Yuuri hardly even blushes, already grown used to Victor’s many displays of affection. The two have been getting much closer, both as student and coach and also as something more. Even without words, they both know they have a deeper bond developing. Just the thought makes Victor’s heart swell.

  
As Yuuri’s eyes begin to droop, Victor gets up from the bed and heads to the door to let him rest in peace. “Sleep well, my Yuuri,” he whispers and softly closes the door.

  
～

  
The next morning comes and Victor is marching through the hallways of the onsen with a tray in hand. He reaches Yuuri’s door and knocks three times in succession with his free hand. Upon hearing no response, he assumes Yuuri is sleeping. Just to be safe, he knocks again, gently calling Yuuri’s name as he slowly opens the door and peers inside where he finds his patient still propped up against the pillows, already awake.

  
“Good morning, Yuuri!” Victor greets and Yuuri meet Victor’s eyes and gives a small wave. “I brought you some stuff!” he says, placing the tray down on the table beside the bed. He dutifully takes Yuuri’s temperature and gets him to swallow some pills, much to Yuuri’s discomfort. Once done, a tangible silence fills the room.

  
“You’re even more quiet than usual today, Yuuri,” Victor notes with mingling teasing and concern as he notices Yuuri fidgeting uncomfortably. “You haven’t said a word all morning.” The fidgeting stops and he freezes. “Are you feeling okay?” Victor asks. Yuuri nods quickly and Victor only frowns. He’s obviously hiding something. “You know you can tell me anything. I’ll get you whatever you need. It’s really no problem. Your word is my command.”

  
Yuuri remains silent and Victor is patient. If Yuuri has something to say, there’s no use in forcing him to talk right away. He’ll tell Victor when he’s ready. They’ve been together long enough to know that’s what works best.

  
Sure enough, Yuuri finally meets Victor’s eyes. He opens his mouth and moves his lips but no sound comes out, then he points at his throat and makes an x-formation with his arms in front of his body.

  
He holds the position while Victor stares, trying to decode what Yuuri could possibly mean. Why doesn’t he just come out and tell Victor what’s wrong using words?

  
A moment passes and Victor understands.

  
“Yuuri, have you lost your voice?” Victor asks and Yuuri nods. “Oh, you poor thing!” Victor coos. “How adorable!” Yuuri gapes at him, blushes and scowls. “Just what are we going to do with you?” Victor muses joyfully, then his expression suddenly falls. How is he going to care for Yuuri if he doesn’t know what he needs? This might end up being troublesome…

  
“Okay, Yuuri!” Victor declares and Yuuri focuses his attention on him. “Because you can’t talk, we’re going to have to figure something out so you can communicate what you need,” he says seriously. “Any ideas?”

  
Yuuri puts a hand on his chin in thought, face focused and determined, then he abruptly snaps his fingers and looks up with an accomplished smile on his face. He waves his finger in the air, likely trying to imitate an action of some kind or spell out a word, but Victor can’t decipher it. Yuuri stops, but he doesn’t give up. He changes the action, holding his left palm towards himself and uses his other hand like a pen.

  
“Writing! Of course!” Victor exclaims. “I’ll ask your parents if they have anything we can use!” Victor says before rushing out of the room.

  
By the time he’s halfway to his destination, he realizes he could have easily checked Yuuri’s room for pen and paper. But then again, he should let the Katsuki’s know their son is sick. The onsen was so busy yesterday that Victor had spent the entire day caring for Yuuri on his own, barely able to leave the bedroom as the young skater struggled to catch his breath through his fierce coughs. It’s unlikely anyone else even knows he’s caught a cold.

  
Victor spots Yuuri’s mother and calls her over, but it’s only once she starts approaching him that he realizes his problem with communicating doesn’t stop at Yuuri’s missing voice; Yuuri’s parents know about as much English as Victor knows Japanese.

  
He and Yuuri talk in English for the most part as it’s the language the two are most comfortable in. Yuuri teaches him small words and phrases of his language when he can, but Victor is nowhere near fluent yet. Plus, it’s a lot harder to put his own thoughts into adequately formed sentences compared to simply listening.

  
“Vicchan!” Hiroko greets. “What’s the matter?” she asks in lightly accented English.

  
Victor’s eyebrows crease in hard thought. Cold, cold… What’s the Japanese word for cold? “Ah! _Samui! Yuuri wa samui desu!_ ” Victor exclaims triumphantly. He remembers Yuuri muttering the word sometimes while rubbing his crossed arms to keep them warm on the ice, so it has to be right! Okay, half down, half to go. Now he just needs to tell her Yuuri has lost his voice.

  
_“Samui? Ah, kaze wo hiita no?”_ Hiroko asks.

  
_Kaze_ means wind, Victor manages to recall, and he frowns as he curses the language barrier. Wind has nothing to do with this! Yuuri _has_ a cold, not _is_ cold. Although he might have chills from his fever, now that Victor thinks about it.

  
“Umm…sick? _Yuuri wa sick desu!_ ” Victor tries once more, accepting that’s about as close as he’s going to get. Just for good measure, he mimics the actions that Yuuri demonstrated to Victor to get his message across.

  
Thankfully, understanding seems to dawns on her and she heads in the direction of Yuuri’s bedroom. Victor trails behind her as she reaches the door and opens it up to reveal Yuuri in the same position Victor had left him.

  
Hiroko embraces her son and asks him a number of questions in Japanese and Yuuri nods or shakes his head in response while Victor stands rather awkwardly to the side of the room, trying to listen to the conversation. He catches the words _kaze_ and _samui_ again as well as his name. Hiroko must have said something funny because Yuuri laughs, albeit soundlessly, then casts a glance over at him.

  
Yuuri turns back to his mother and acts out pen and paper and she rummages through some drawers in Yuuri’s desk and emerges with a small whiteboard and a marker which she hands to him.

  
The first thing he writes is “hungry” in English plus what Victor can only assume is the Japanese translation written underneath it. At that, Hiroko says something to Yuuri who nods then she skips out of the room, leaving Yuuri and Victor alone.

  
“I really need to start learning more Japanese,” Victor muses mostly to himself. “That aside, how are you feeling, Yuuri?” he asks his patient, “On a scale from 1-10. 10 being ‘I can run a marathon right now’ and 1 is ‘take me to the hospital’.” Yuuri ponders for a moment, scribbles on his board and holds it up revealing a solid 6. Not too bad.

  
“How is your fever? Too hot? Too cold?” Yuuri just shakes his head and jots down “okay”. “Headache?” Victor asks, getting a so-so gesture of his hand in response. When asked if he has a sore throat, Yuuri nods immediately. “Can I get you anything?” Victor offers.

  
He looks down to his whiteboard again and writes, “Mom is bringing tea.”

  
Victor smiles. “That’s good. Your mom is a great caretaker. And she was smart enough to understand what I was trying to say despite my obviously eloquent Japanese,” he jokes, eliciting another silent laugh from Yuuri. “I really do wish I knew more…” he sighs.

  
Yuuri scoots over on the bed and invitingly pats the spot next to him. Victor’s heart swells fondly and he accepts, sitting as close to Yuuri as the man will let him, which turns out to be hip to hip. Victor is grateful Yuuri has been more open and comfortable with him. They really have come a long way in the past number of months they’ve been living and training together. Yuuri flashes him a warm smile then turns his attention back to his lap where he writes, “Want me to teach you Japanese?”

  
“Yes! Of course! I would love that!” Victor exclaims. Despite having lived in Japan surrounded by the language, he hasn’t put muchーif anyーeffort into learning it. He simply hasn’t had the time or motivation. Having Yuuri as a teacher, though, is the best motivation Victor could possibly ask for. Having him teach Victor his native language, it’s special, almost intimate.

  
At Victor’s enthusiasm, Yuuri wipes the board clean then writes out in diligent strokes: 勝生勇利. “I know that one! That’s your name!” Victor says.

  
Yuuri nods and adds the pronunciation on top before writing, “Do you know what my name means?”

  
“No, I don’t. Tell me,” he asks, voice equal parts soft and intrigued. He sees Yuuri write in English “win, life, courage.”

  
“Yuuri. Courage,” Victor tries, as if testing the name and its new meaning on his tongue. “I like it. It suits you,” he compliments. “Teach me more,” he requests, and Yuuri obliges.

  
The next hour or so consists of just that: Yuuri teaching Victor any kanji he thinks would be important or that he finds interesting, while Victor occasionally asks how he would write a particular word. At one point, Victor recalls his communication mishap with Yuuri’s mother and asks for the Japanese word for cold. Yuuri thinks for a moment, then writes two different words: 寒い and 風邪, writing “ _samui_ ーfeeling” under the first set of characters and “ _kaze_ ーillness” under the other two.

  
“Oh,” Victor laughs, finally understanding. “I told your mom you _were_ cold, not _have_  a cold. And then she mentioned something about the wind.”

  
At this, Yuuri circles the first of the two partnered characters in the second word and writes, “This on its own means wind. Both pronounced _kaze_.”

  
“Japanese is so confusing!” Victor bemoans while running a hand through his hair. He suddenly gets an idea. “Hey, I know! How about I teach you a bit of Russian?”

  
Yuuri nods excitedly and hands the whiteboard over. Victor ponders what to write for a moment, overjoyed at the feel of Yuuri’s expectant gaze on him. He smiles and writes out “Виктор Никифоров.” Beside him, Yuuri gives another silent laugh before taking back the pen and writing, “I already know your name.”

  
“Okay then, Mr. Number One Fanboy,” he teases while writing out some simple vocabulary, “try reading this one.”

  
Yuuri studies the symbols before he gives up and writes, “Can’t read Cyrillic,” with an added frowny face.

  
“Here, I’ll teach you,” Victor says. “Just like you taught me.”

  
They pass more time like that, Yuuri picking up on the writing system surprisingly quick while Victor teaches him some more words. Yuuri seems to be doing better in terms of his health. He hasn’t complained about being too hot or cold, although his fever had been quite mild to begin with. He’s no longer coughing and he doesn’t seem uncomfortable. All in all, he appears well. The only real sign he’s even sick is the barely-visible red tinting his cheeks and his inability to talk.

  
While Victor may miss Yuuri’s voice and the music that is his laughter, he can’t help but savour the peace found in the sound of both of their quiet breathing, interrupted only by the soft squeak of the marker on the whiteboard and Victor’s voice, kept at a low volume.

  
“You skate like your body is creating music, and your hand has art flowing from your fingertips,” he muses aloud, utterly transfixed on Yuuri’s elegant handwriting. “Everything about you is beautiful, Yuuri. Breathtakingly so.”

  
Yuuri blushes and ducks his head and Victor smiles, knowing that while Yuuri may not be totally used to accepting praise, he has already gained much more confidence and love for himself.

  
Yuuri hands off the marker and Victor hums in thought, debating over what to write next. He has an idea, but isn’t sure how Yuuri will react to _that_. He knows they’ve been getting closer and developing a much deeper relationship, but what if it’s too soon? What if Yuuri doesn’t feel the same way? The tip of the marker hovers in midair about a centimetre off the board.

  
“Okay, how about this one?” Victor asks with more confidence than he feels. He carefully carves out the letters as if carving out his own heart and presenting it to Yuuri. He may as well be, given what he just wrote: я люблю тебя. To both his excitement and anxiety, Yuuri freezes as he reads the words. “Do you know what it means?” Victor asks. He’s not sure how he managed to get the words out since his throat suddenly feels so tight and dry. His heart has yet to slow down, pounding rapidly in his chest.

  
Yuuri doesn’t react to Victor’s question; he doesn’t shake or nod his head. He takes the marker from Victor’s hand, their warm fingers brushing. Victor keeps his eyes glued on Yuuri’s work, watching stroke by stroke as the image comes into being. It’s a character Victor recognizes, the theme of Yuuri’s Grand Prix series: 愛

  
Love.

  
Yuuri understands what Victor wrote. But does he understand what he feels?

  
To the bursting of his heart, Yuuri continues to write. There’s some hiragana which Victor still struggles to read, but there’s also some Cyrillic that Victor can definitely understandーhis own name. It makes the rest of the sentence click. “Виктор を愛してる.” As if Yuuri was unsure if Victor would understand, he writes Victor’s name in katakana next to the Cyrillic Victor himself had previously written.

  
Victor regards the masterpiece, a heartfelt mixture of Japanese and Russian and a dash of English, all spelling out love. Victor’s love for Yuuri and Yuuri’s love for Victor.

  
Yuuri puts the cap on the marker and looks up at Victor, locking eyes with him. There’s a prominent blush on Yuuri’s cheeks that Victor is certain has nothing to do with his fever, and his eyes hold a passionate spark that makes his heart jump.

  
Victor is sure he’s blushing too. He feels uncharacteristically nervous, staring deep into Yuuri’s beautiful eyes as Yuuri does the same to him. “Do you…do you really mean it?” Victor asks, more accurately breathes out. He has to be sure. He can’t live without the knowledge that Yuuri for sure loves him, just like he said. Just like he wrote.

  
Yuuri nods affirmatively, and Victor’s heart blooms inside his chest as he embraces him, pulling him into a tight hug that Yuuri returns. When they pull away, Yuuri’s lips are curved upwards in a smile. Victor stares, so utterly captivated by his beauty, until he can’t help but lean forward to capture Yuuri’s lips with his own. It barely lasts a second and Victor is the first to pull away, desperately hoping he didn’t cross a line with Yuuri. To his relief, Yuuri is smiling even brighter than before.

  
His beaming grin is suddenly lost as shock instead crosses his features. He tears the cap off the marker and scribbles in quick and messy English, “You’re going to get sick now!”

  
Victor just laughs. “If I’m already going to get sick, then can I have another kiss?” Victor teases. To his joy, Yuuri complies, initiating the kiss himself this time. It’s a bit longer than the first, but still too short. It’s soft and gentle and oh so sweet, and Victor lips are still tingling with warmth long after Yuuri has pulled away.

  
～

  
“Victor?” Yuuri asks, rousing Victor from his sleep. He smiles at the sound of Yuuri’s voice. It’s come back at last, but not in full. It still sounds rather weak.

  
Still half-asleep, Victor gives a happy sigh, relishing in the plush feel of the bed and the blanket, the comforting warmth of the body next to him and the gorgeous eyes staring into his own. “Good morning, Yuuri,” he tries to say, except no words come out, and he and Yuuri both realize at the same time and with a start that he has no voice.

  
“I told you I was going to get you sick,” Yuuri says as Victor once again tries and fails to talk. All that comes out is a humiliating squeak and Victor flushes a dark red at the sound.

  
“Here. Write down what you need,” Yuuri instructs while handing him the whiteboard and marker. “And open up,” he adds. Victor complies and holds the thermometer under his tongue with a pout as he writes on the board. By the time the device beeps, Victor has finished writing: “headache, feel hot, tired. Want Yuuri.”

  
Yuuri gives a sympathetic smile at Victor’s work, then his expression shifts to slightly more serious upon reading the thermometer. “I’m going to get you a cold facecloth for your fever. I’ll be back soon.”

  
Victor tugs on his sleeve to prevent him from leaving and quickly scrawls out: “Aren’t you still sick?”

  
“I get sick quickly and get over it quickly. That’s how it’s always been for me,” Yuuri tells him simply. His tone then changes, sounding more sad. “I guess you did too much talking yesterday, huh? You used up your voice. All for my sake too…” Yuuri trails off and Victor can tell he’s feeling guilty and thinking it’s his fault.

  
Victor quickly and firmly shakes his head at the self-doubting words. Yuuri gives him a small smile, but just that isn’t enough for Victor. He erases the board and writes in English, “I love you! More than words can say,” and proudly holds it up to Yuuri. The words are surrounded with many hearts and happy faces and also his and Yuuri’s name in both their native languages.

  
“I love you, too,” Yuuri says, his face breaking into a dazzling grin. Victor mirrors it, almost crying with happiness upon hearing the words in Yuuri’s beautiful (albeit still fairly weak) voice. “Get some rest,” Yuuri adds with a gentle kiss upon Victor’s heated forehead.

  
Content, Victor puts the whiteboard down and settles into the blankets again, closes his eyes and falls asleep to the sound of Yuuri’s light footsteps leaving the room.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Translations:
> 
> “Samui! Yuuri wa samui desu!”: Cold! Yuuri is cold!
> 
> “Samui? Ah, kaze wo hiita no?”: Cold? Ah, he caught a cold?
> 
> “Yuuri wa sick desu!”: Yuuri is sick!
> 
> To reiterate, 風 kaze means wind, 風邪 kaze means cold as in the illness, and 寒い samui is used if you’re feeling cold.
> 
> 勝生勇利: Katsuki Yuuri
> 
> Виктор Никифоров: Victor Nikiforov
> 
> я люблю тебя: I love you
> 
> 愛: love
> 
> Виктор を愛してる: I love (you) Victor
> 
> (я люблю тебя, ヴィクトル is what Yuuri would have written after: I love you, Victor)
> 
>  
> 
> I’m sorry if Victor’s Japanese sounds cringey and unnatural because that was literally exactly what I was going for (so don’t go spamming my inbox and calling me a weeb just because I threw desu on the end of every sentence. It was intentional.)
> 
> I’ve been studying Japanese since highschool, so about 4ish years now, so the Japanese used here (is not google translated and) should be correct! As for Russian, I (sadly) don’t know the language, but a good friend of mine was thankfully able to help me out with that!
> 
> Anyways, thank you for reading! :)


End file.
